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Manafort Trial: Rick Gates Wraps Up Testimony

In the last day of testimony from Rick Gates in the trial of his former boss Paul Manafort, AP reporter Chad Day says Gates admitted regret in his actions. Day says later that two witnesses provided some "very damning" testimony against Manafort. (Published Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018)

What to Know

Prosecutors in Paul Manafort's trial have eight witnesses left to call and are expected to rest their case by Friday afternoon

Prosecutors say Judge Ellis was wrong to scold them in front of the Jury for allowing a witness to remain in the courtroom during the trial

Witnesses are usually excluded from watching unless allowed by the judge

After three days of dramatic and even salacious testimony in the trial of Paul Manafort, prosecutors on Thursday returned to the nuts and bolts of their case against the former Trump campaign chairman as they sought to show he obtained millions of dollars in bank loans under false pretenses.

Attorneys for special counsel Robert Mueller also got a rare — and narrow — acknowledgment from U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III that he likely erred when he angrily confronted them a day earlier over whether he had allowed a witness to watch the trial.

The judge's comments and detailed testimony about Manafort's loans opened the eighth day of his trial as prosecutors began presenting the bulk of their bank fraud case against him after spending days largely on tax-evasion allegations.

On Thursday, a bank employee told jurors how she discovered discrepancies in the information he put on his loan application, including holes in his claims about a New York City property. Melinda James, a Citizens Bank mortgage loan assistant, testified that Manafort had told the bank that the property would be used as a second residence, but she found it listed as a rental on a real estate website.

Gates Testifies He Committed Crimes With Manafort

The former deputy of Paul Manafort admitted to a slew of his own crimes in his second appearance at his former mentor's trial. Rick Gates, another former Trump campaign official, admitted to hiding and embezzling from Manafort's funds as well as helping Manafort lie on his loan applications.

(Published Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018)

In another instance, James said Manafort maintained that there were no mortgages on a separate New York property when there actually were. All the while, Manafort signed paperwork indicating he understood that he could face criminal or civil penalties if he lied to the bank.

Airbnb executive Darin Evenson also told jurors that one of Manafort's New York City properties was offered as a rental through much of 2015 and 2016 — a direct contradiction of the documents the longtime political consultant submitted to obtain a $3.4 million loan. Another bank employee said the distinction matters because the bank caps loans for rentals at $1 million.

The prosecution has put forward nearly 20 witnesses — including Manafort's longtime deputy Rick Gates — and a trove of documentary evidence as they've sought to prove Manafort defrauded banks and concealed millions of dollars in offshore bank accounts from the IRS. But along the way they've not only faced an aggressive defense team, but a combative relationship with Ellis.

The judge has subjected the prosecution to repeated tongue-lashings over the pace of their questioning, their massive amount of trial exhibits and even their facial expressions. But on Thursday, Ellis told jurors he went overboard when he erupted on prosecutors for allowing an expert witness to remain in the courtroom during the trial.

The judge's comments on the eighth day of the trial were in response to a written filing by prosecutors arguing that Ellis should instruct the jury that he made an error in admonishing them during the Wednesday testimony of IRS agent Michael Welch.

Manafort Trial Underway

The first trial of Paul Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman, is underway in Virginia. Manafort is the first person to go on trial as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. This trial will determine whether Manafort tried to hide millions of dollars earned as a consultant for the Ukrainian government.

(Published Tuesday, July 31, 2018)

Ellis had heatedly confronted prosecutor Uzo Asonye, saying he hadn't authorized Welch to watch the entirety of the trial. Witnesses are usually excluded from watching unless allowed by the judge.

But in their filing, prosecutors attached a transcript showing that in fact Ellis had approved the request a week before. They said his outburst prejudiced the jury by suggesting they had acted improperly and could undermine Welch's testimony.

Welch had told jurors that Manafort didn't report at least $16 million on his tax returns between 2010 and 2014. He also said Manafort should have reported multiple foreign bank accounts to the IRS in those years.

Prosecutors had asked Ellis to instruct the jury that they hadn't done anything improper in an attempt to repair any unfair prejudice.

Ellis has repeatedly tussled with prosecutors, interrupting them and pressuring them to hurry through their case even during a dramatic three days in which Gates, Manafort's protégé, implicated his former boss in a years-long financial scheme.

Prosecutors, with eight witnesses left to call, are expected to rest their case by Friday afternoon.

White House Distances Itself on Manafort

The White House distanced itself from former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort just a day before his trial, with Kellyanne Conway saying, "It has nothing to do with the campaign." Manafort stands accused of making millions doing political work in Ukraine and dodging taxes by funneling money through offshore accounts.

(Published Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018)

Gates, the government's star witness in Manafort's financial fraud trial, testified how, at the behest of his longtime boss, he helped conceal millions of dollars in foreign income and submitted fake mortgage and tax documents.

Defense lawyers have painted Gates as a liar, embezzler and philanderer, getting him to acknowledge an extramarital affair and reminding jurors how he falsified hundreds of thousands of dollars in expense reports.

The testimony, stretching across three days, created an extraordinary courtroom showdown between the two former Trump campaign aides who were indicted together. Manafort opted for trial, while Gates pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against his former boss.

Neither man was charged in connection with their Trump campaign work, but the trial has nonetheless been closely watched by a president who insists Manafort was treated shabbily and who continues to fume publicly about Mueller's investigation into potential ties between his associates and the Kremlin.